Channel-Port aux Basques
| Channel-Port aux Basques | |||
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 Channel-Port aux Basques in fog |
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| Location in Newfoundland and Labrador | |||
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| State : |
 Canada
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| Province : | Newfoundland and Labrador | ||
| Region: | Census Division No. 3 | ||
| Coordinates : | 47 ° 34 ′ N , 59 ° 8 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 23 m | ||
| Area : | 38.77 km² | ||
| Residents : | 4067 (as of 2016) | ||
| Population density : | 104.9 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Time zone : | Newfoundland Time ( UTC − 3: 30 ) | ||
| Postal code : | A0M | ||
Channel-Port aux Basques is a municipality ( town ) on the southwest tip of Newfoundland , in the north of the Cabot Strait . The community was founded in 1945 and is located on the Trans-Canada Highway , which connects the Canadian Pacific coast with the Atlantic coast.
Port aux Basques is the landing stage for ferries from North Sydney (Nova Scotia) . 90% of Newfoundland's ferry traffic goes through this port.
history
The place got its name from Basque whalers who stopped in the bay in the 17th century and took supplies. The telegraph cable laid underwater in 1856 from Cape Breton Island to Newfoundland, which marked the beginning of the first transatlantic cable, came ashore near Port aux Basques.
In 1893 it was decided to extend the Newfoundland Railway from the Avalon Peninsula to Port aux Basques. The construction was completed in 1897. In the mid-1960s, the Newfoundland part of the Trans-Canada Highway was built. The road runs along the railway route. The train service ceased in 1988 due to competition from the highway.
The worst shipping catastrophe in the region to date occurred on October 14, 1942, when the passenger ferry Caribou was torpedoed by a German submarine in Cabotstrasse in front of Channel Head without warning and sank within five minutes. 136 passengers and crew members were killed.
Demographics
The 2016 census showed a population of 4,067 for the municipality. In the previous 2006 and 2011 censuses, the population was 4,319 and 4,170 respectively.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Channel-Port aux Basques, Census 2016 . Statistics Canada. Retrieved November 30, 2018.